Why do they have to change his race? Fleming created him as a Caucasian British secret agent. There is no need to make him change skin color.

I don't think it's so much a need to change his race for the sake of changing it; at least, that's not how I see it. When I think of James Bond, I think of what MAKES him James Bond. Being Caucasian is not one of those qualities. Being a suave, handsome, well-spoken badass is what MAKES James Bond. And Idris Elba meets all of that criteria, plus he's one of the best new actors on the Hollywood scene. Changing his race would also show that who Bond is is more important than what race Bond is. And then you've got that theory with the movies that states that the names "007" and "James Bond" are only code names, and that each Bond is a different person filling the same role. It's a solid and interesting theory, and it would allow Idris Elba to play the character without abandoning that whole "Bond is supposed to be white" mentality.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of ways around Bond's race and that his race isn't even really too much of an issue in my opinion. It'd be interesting to see James Bond order an entire bottle of Hennessy instead of a martini, though.